10 Verses to Pray over Your Marriage

By Candace Crabtree, Crosswalk.com

“Two are better than one, because they have a good return for their labor: If either of them falls down, one can help the other up. But pity anyone who falls and has no one to help them up. Also, if two lie down together, they will keep warm. But how can one keep warm alone? Though one may be overpowered, two can defend themselves. A cord of three strands is not quickly broken.” Ecclesiastes 4:9-12

The Bible tells us that two are better than one. We know God’s Word to be true, but if we are human and honest, we will often admit that marriage is hard. It doesn’t always seem like two really are better than one, does it?

Making our marriage stronger takes intentionality, and I believe, prayer. When we are intentionally humbling ourselves and praying for our spouse, our heart grows more soft and pliable. God is able to work in my heart as well as in my spouse.

But should we pray? What if marriage is so hard we can hardly utter words of hope? This is where praying God’s Word comes into play. Learning to pray God’s Word has been something God has used in my life when I was desperate and without words. Praying God’s Word gives me the words when I have none, but also gives me the confidence to pray because I know I am praying in alignment with His Will if I’m praying His very words. Praying God’s Word is for the weak and broken, like me. Praying God’s Word is for all of us!

And even if your marriage is strong and you don’t need help finding words to pray, the verses listed below can help give you new ideas for how to pray for your marriage.

10 Verses to Pray for Your Marriage

1. Joshua 1:9“Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go.” (Lord, make us strong for you.)

2. Proverbs 24:3-4“By wisdom a house is built, and through understanding it is established; through knowledge its rooms are filled with rare and beautiful treasures.” (Lord, may our homes be built on your wisdom.)

3. Psalm 1:1-3“Blessed is the one who does not walk in step with the wicked or stand in the way that sinners take or sit in the company of mockers, but whose delight is in the law of the Lord, and who meditates on his law day and night. That person is like a tree planted by streams of water, which yields its fruit in season and whose leaf does not wither—whatever they do prospers.” (Lord, may our delight be in you, may we meditate on your law day and night. When we do so, our marriage and our family will be like a tree planted by streams of water, which yields fruit in its season and whose leaf does not wither.)

4. Psalm 51:10“Create in me a pure heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me.” (Lord, create in both of us a pure heart, seeking you first in all things.)

5.Song of Solomon 4:10 “How delightful is your love, my sister, my bride! How much more pleasing is your love than wine, and the fragrance of your perfume more than any spice!” (May we delight in our love for one another.)

6.Isaiah 62:5“As a young man marries a young woman, so will your Builder marry you; as a bridegroom rejoices over his bride, so will your God rejoice over you.” (May we rejoice over one another and in turn, rest in the knowledge that you, God, rejoice over us as your children.)

7.1 Corinthians 13:4-8“Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. Love never fails.“ (Lord, give us your kind of love for our spouse and for our families. Grow us in patience, kindness, honor, service, and may we never keep a record of wrongs. May our love never fail because it is your love in us.)

8. Ephesians 5:21-33“Submit to one another out of reverence for Christ. Wives, submit yourselves to your own husbands as you do to the Lord. For the husband is the head of the wife as Christ is the head of the church, his body, of which he is the Savior. Now as the church submits to Christ, so also wives should submit to their husbands in everything. Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her to make her holy, cleansing her by the washing with water through the word, and to present her to himself as a radiant church, without stain or wrinkle or any other blemish, but holy and blameless. In this same way, husbands ought to love their wives as their own bodies. He who loves his wife loves himself. After all, no one ever hated their own body, but they feed and care for their body, just as Christ does the church— for we are members of his body. 'For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two will become one flesh.' This is a profound mystery—but I am talking about Christ and the church. However, each one of you also must love his wife as he loves himself, and the wife must respect her husband.” (Lord, may we joyfully submit to one another out of reverence for Christ. May we love like Jesus.)

9. Philippians 2:3-7“Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves, not looking to your own interests but each of you to the interests of the others. In your relationships with one another, have the same mindset as Christ Jesus: Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage; rather, he made himself nothing by taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness.” (Lord, help us to not do anything out of selfish ambition. Give us humble hearts toward one another, not looking to our own interests, but to the interests of our spouse. Give us the mind of Christ.)

10. Colossians 1:13-14“For he has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the Son he loves, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.” (Lord, may we never forget that you rescued us from the dominion of darkness. May we show that same forgiveness to our spouse!)

Candace Crabtree is just a broken mama thankful for grace and new mercies every morning. She and her husband live in East Tennessee where they homeschool their 3 kids. Candace also enjoys teaching piano, coffee, good books and blogging at His Mercy Is New. On her blog she shares encouragement for weary women from God's Word along with resources for learning to pray the Scriptures.